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Richard Dragon
Most people know Richard Dragon as just that nice, somewhat reclusive guy that runs some martial arts classes in Gotham City at the Dragon Koryu Dojo. In the circle of truly dedicated martial artists there's probably not a name known better than Richard Dragon, he's become a legend. Few details are actually known about the man though, what can be accepted is that he's the best. Those making a name for him often seek him out to challenge, but he's never been beaten, others seek him out for training, though most are turned away. Background Richard Drakunovski is something of a tragic figure. Orphaned in China at the age of seven, he grew up in the school of hard knocks that Hong Kong is for the homeless. He took to thievery as naturally as a fish to water long before he knew anything of the martial arts, pick pocketing and generally filching to survive. The young man would spend four years of his life scraping by in this manner before fate finally intervened. At the age of eleven, Richard took a bet to steal a Buddha statue from a temple. The master of the temple was a man known only as the O-Sensei, and as hard as he fought Richard would be no match for him. Fortunately, the mysterious master saw goodness deep down inside the young Richard. Acting on this notion, the O-Sensei offered him a home and place as his student alongside the young Ben Turner. Richard would be spend the next seven years of his life there, free from the streets and learning all that the O-Sensei had to teach him. Philosophy, science, history, and martial arts were the curriculum of this school. Richard proved to be an astonishingly talented student of the martial arts. The O-Sensei looked upon him as his star pupil, gifting him with a jade amulet of a dragon's claw before persuading him to take a position with an international espionage organization that he had worked for in his younger days called GOOD. Ben and Richard would both sign on with this spy network, their first operation seeing them break up a Sudanese slave ring. Soon after, their lives would come to a crossroads with a young woman named Carolyn Woosan who turned out to be the O-Sensei's goddaughter. She was on the run from an assassin known only as The Swiss, and he would eventually find his mark. The murder of Carolyn would be pinned on Richard by the employer of the Swiss, and this would be the bait to draw out the already notorious Lady Shiva. Sandra Woosan, aka Lady Shiva, was Carolyn's sister and already a renowned assassin and martial artist in those days. Lady Shiva and Richard would meet in combat over the death of her sister, during which Shiva would learn the truth of what happened. After coming to terms with her deception, Shiva and Dragon would become friends of a sort though Richard would never agree with her personal ethics. The three martial artists would do several jobs together across Asia and the United States. Richard would, in the meantime, also found his first dojo in Manhattan. This lasted for a while, until a fateful incident involving a lover of Ben's named Janey who was also a student of Richard. An assassin murdered her, and in the pursuit of his employer Ben would be captured. Shiva and Richard parted ways for months after this. Richard slipped into depression, letting himself go to waste mourning the loss of his best friend who he was sure had died. One night, Lady Shiva had enough and came to him with an offer. She convinced him to participate in an underground competition run by a mysterious figure known as the Bronze Tiger. Richard would go for it, dominating the bouts until the police arrived. During the scuffle, the mysterious Tiger's mask would be knocked off revealing Ben beneath it. Richard would be a regular after this for several years, feeling revitalized by the bloodsport but also hoping to glean the truth of what had happened to his oldest friend. Richard would eventually grow numb from the combat, then slowly come to terms with the dark spiral that Lady Shiva had lured him into with the competitions. With this realization, he would part ways from it all and go forth into the world. Traveling abroad, he utilized his winnings to support himself while otherwise returning to his old aescetic ways. He would indulge philosophy in India and Nepal, and seek out martial arts masters in China and Japan. His road eventually led him to Nanda Parbat, and here he would linger for several long years in contemplation. Richard's years of peace and quiet come to an end with the Crisis. The masters of the city, including Rama Kushna herself, would be panicked by the events unfolding around the world. He could not sit idly by while this happened, but alas by the time he returned to civilization it had all passed. Richard would decide to set himself up in Gotham with a new school. Tapping his monetary reserves, he involved himself with local charities and began to reach out. In this manner, Richard would begin to make himself known in the world once more. Personality * Optimistic - Richard is a firm believer that as long as people are willing to strive for it and refuse to give up, justice will always triumph someway somehow. * Protective - Richard always stands up for his friends. He also gets even for them, when necessary. * Honorable - Richard is one of the few people in the world who very likely isn't a hypocrite about anything. He lives by a strict code that he refuses to violate for anyone, even his friends. This code guides his behavior in all situations, and is a matter of life and death in his world view. * Humble - Richard is one of the least braggodocious individuals around. He actually doesn't even like showing off, unless he thinks it can possibly prevent actual confrontation or future confrontation. * Vengeful - Richard has a deep reservoir beneath his often relatively placid exterior. He can take a lot, but there are certain things that he cannot and will not. When that limit is reached, there is no mistaking it. He will have justice, and it will be on his terms. His wrath is singleminded and notorious. Logs First Player's Logs *(GG: 2012-08-30 - Firefly verse Heroes?) *2012-08-30 - Visiting the Dragon's Lair - Oracle visits her former martial arts teacher. *2012-09-02 - It's Magic - Evaluating Richard Dragon, C.A.T. is still licking her wounds from her last mission. *2012-09-08 - Invader Skrull: Help Me - Kitty a.k.a. C.A.T. begs Richard for help, the Director has her scared! *2012-09-09 - Invader Skrull: Who Is Driving This Boat? - Fury's first two fresh recruits go to fetch their third one. The Three Stooges anyone? *2012-09-15 - Invader Skrull: Off Grid - Who do they trust, and what does it mean to be a Secret Warrior? *2012-11-15 - Cutscene: Invader Skrull - Black Team's Price - Everything has a price, and so does saving the world. NPC'ed Logs *2013-09-23 - Babysitting - Morning breakfast is interrupted when Bruce hears from Oracle...he has a son! Second Player's Logs *2017-09-01 - Mauled by a Mutant Menace - Sabertooth comes to Gotham to collect a bounty on Catwoman but gets bites off more locals than he can manage. *2017-09-09 - On Mastery - Damian Wayne comes to Richard Dragon to ask for lessons and he gets one he didn't expect. *2017-10-01 - MM Flower Arrangers - A group of Friends of Humanity attempt to browbeat Ted Grant in his own gym. It gets odd. *2017-11-28 - When Dragons Meet - A group of fighters gather at Grant's Gym. Nothing, or historical. Your call. Category:DC Feature Category:DC Hero Category:Gotham Category:DC Taken